Government schools in Bihar were paralysed on Saturday, with around 3.5 lakh contract teachers going on an indefinite strike to demand regularisation of tenure and fixing of salaries at par with regular primary teachers.
The strike affected 20 lakh students with regular teachers also joining the strike in support of the contract teachers.
The primary school teachers on contract went on strike earlier last month after talks with the government failed. Contractual primary school teachers get between Rs. 7,000-10,000 per month whereas the regular teachers get over Rs. 40,000 a month with other perks and benefits.
To improve school education, the Nitish Kumar government had appointed lakhs of teachers on contract. There are over 72,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar and most of them were locked on Saturday.
There are over 80,000 regular primary and middle school teachers in Bihar. “We had requested the government to at least take positive initiatives but they did not heed us and we’re forced to join them in the strike,” said Kedar Pandey, leader of a teachers’ association.
Parents have expressed concern over the situation. “The government should immediately take steps to end the strike, otherwise what will happen to the future of children,” asked Satyendra Kumar, a vegetable vendor whose nine-year-old daughter studies in a government school in Patna.
Parents worried
“All the leaders and teachers send their children to private schools, so who cares for poor people like us whose children only go to government schools,” rued many parents whom The Hindu spoke to in Patna.
Meanwhile, the striking teachers said they would continue their strike until their demands were met. “
The government has been assuring us for long but this time we will not succumb to their empty assurances,” said Purna Kumar, leader of the Contractual Teachers Association.
The 3.5 lakh teachers on contract have been demanding that their service be regularised
